The Science of Loving (32 page)

It was late; the sun shining through windows was only a memory, and I felt pleasantly numb as if I’d just finished a long run. Mat surrounded me, large and warm. I snuggled closer, ignoring an annoyingly familiar chime. I could stay like this forever.

“Babe, I think that’s your phone.” His chest vibrated under my ear as he toyed with my curls, pulling out a coiled lock then releasing it to spring back.

“Phone?”

“Yeah baby, time to come back to earth.” He grinned cockily. “You might want to check and make sure it’s nothing important before we get all tied up.” I stumbled in the gloom, his earlier threats clamoring in my mind. The lights switched on, briefly harsh before dimming to a warm glow. I checked the missed call, but I didn't recognize the number. When Mat’s phone started ringing, I began to worry.

“Hello… Yeah… Is he all right?… Wait, his daughter’s right here. Angie, babe… it’s the hospital, your dad’s had an accident.”

No… no… “Hello?”

“Angelina Martin?”

“Yes.”

“I’m Dr. Mahajan at Scripps Memorial. I’m afraid your father’s had an accident. He’s suffered a head injury. It doesn’t appear serious, but we’re admitting him for observation and he asked us to call you.”

“Oh, God, I’ll be right there. Thank you. Thank you for calling.” I scrambled for my clothes, crawling around on all fours searching under the bed
—where are my panties? Fuck it. I don't need them
—my panties appeared in front of me dangling from Mat’s finger. My feet tangled dangerously in my haste to pull them on, and I would’ve gone tail over teakettle if not for his steadying hand as the other continued holding his phone to his ear.

“…Yeah, I’ll call you as soon as we know something.” He hung up, tossing the phone on the bed.

When he pulled on a pair of worn jeans, I couldn't help noting he’d gone commando, and I was momentarily transfixed watching him adjust things. After buttoning his fly his fingers trailed up his body— Shit, my cheeks grew hot seeing his grin.

“Will you quit screwing around and get dressed already?” I stomped off in search of my handbag, his laughter following me down the hall. That he was aware how easily he got to me was annoying as hell.

In less than an hour, the hospital’s valet had Mat’s keys, and we were at the admissions window. “Excuse me.” The nurse glanced up, her eyes widening when she looked behind me. “I received a call saying my father was being admitted.”

“I need to see an I.D.” Her eyes darted between my face and license then glanced suspiciously over my shoulder one last time before turning to her computer. “Patient’s name?”

“Isadore Martin”

After a few mouse clicks and some busy typing, she nodded. “Yes, he’s still in the ER waiting to be admitted. Go through those double doors and down the hall.” I grabbed Mat’s hand, walking quickly to the doors, pausing impatiently for her to buzz us in.

I heard my mother raising hell as soon as the doors opened. “I’m his wife dammit; I have every right to be here.”

“I’m sorry Ma’am, but he doesn’t want to see you.”

I turned the corner to find Mom glaring daggers at a matronly nurse while a couple of uniformed security guards looked on, ready to pounce. “Excuse me?”

“Angelina, thank God.”

I focused on the nurse, ignoring the disapproving look Mom directed at Mat. “We’re here to see my father, I’m Angelina Martin and this is Mat—Mathew James.”

She nodded. “He’s expecting you—cubicle six, go all the way to the back and it will be on your right.” Mat grabbed my hand, leading me off without saying a word to Mom.

“Wait, how come he gets to go? He’s not even a family member.”

“He’s on the emergency contact list.”

Mat changed course, spotting Daddy sitting on a half raised bed with the privacy curtains drawn back, watching the bustling activity around him with interest. He waved when he noticed our approach.

“Hey you.” I leaned over kissing his cheek.

“Hey you, right back.” He hugged me then shook Mat’s hand. “Thanks for coming. Sorry to ruin your plans.”

“No worries Jack, defiling you daughter can wait.”
God, he did not just say that.

“And I’ll be sticking around to ensure you make an honest woman of her.”
Please let the ground open up and swallow me.

“Guys, can you not talk about me like I’m not here? Daddy, just how hard did you hit your head?”

“Yeah, man, what happened?”

“I was walking to the store and some idiot decided he’d rather ride his bicycle on the sidewalk instead of the street. It’s fortunate, my foot caught on an uneven section of concrete, otherwise I might’ve ended up under a passing car. Luckily, my head broke my fall, or there’s no telling what I might’ve broken.”

“The sidewalk?” Mat teased. It was worrisome how well those two were getting along.

“Yeah, that poor sidewalk never stood a chance.”

I was so relieved hearing Daddy make corny jokes; I began tearing up. “Hey, there’s no need for that. I’m going to be fine.” He patted my hand as Mat hugged me from behind.

“I know. I was just so worried. You know Mom’s here. She’s ranting at this poor nurse because she won’t let her come back.”

“Yeah, the hospital started making calls before I could update my contact information. And, you need to know, when I prepared for the divorce, my lawyer insisted on having an Advance Directive in case something went wrong. It designates you, and only you, to make legal and medical decisions on my behalf. It shouldn’t be a problem now that the hospital’s aware that your mother and I are estranged.”

“You don’t think that’s a little extreme?”

“Perhaps, but you’ve got a good head on your shoulders, and with everything that’s going on, I know I can trust you to do what’s right.”

“Excuse me, I’m Dr. Mahajan, I believe we spoke on the phone?” A slight dark skinned man with thinning hair approached us.

“Yes, Hi… I’m Angelina Martin. Thank you for taking care of my dad.”

“It’s my pleasure. As I said earlier, there’s no indication of serious trauma, but we’ll monitor him for a while and run some additional tests.” He motioned to a couple of orderlies waiting patiently. “They need to take him upstairs now. He’s going to be in room 426. You can join him once he’s settled.”

I nodded, giving Daddy a kiss. “Okay, we’ll see you in a bit.”

“I’ll walk you up. I have a few routine questions for you.”

“Sure, if it’ll help.”

He waited until we were seated in a cheerful alcove on the fourth floor. “Now I don’t want to alarm you, as I said, these are routine questions we have to ask in situations like this.” I nodded, taking Mat’s hand, the familiar tightness returning to my chest.

“Has you father recently complained of headaches, dizziness or fallen?” I shook my head no.

“Has he ever appeared disoriented or irrational?”
Oh, God… no…
Mat squeezed my hand, and I slowly inhaled. “Has he complained of muscle weakness or had slurred speech?”

“No, why aren’t you asking him these questions?”

“I have, but sometimes family members notice things the patient is unaware of. He does live with you correct?”

“Yes, but he only moved in this past Monday. My parents are getting divorced.”

“Is this a sudden development?”

“Yes… No… Only to me, apparently. I guess he’s been planning it for a while. Things haven’t been good between them for a long time.”

“Well, as I said, everything appears normal. Just to be safe, we’ll run some tests and watch him for a while. You can see him in a few more minutes. Unfortunately, visiting hours end at 8:30, so you won’t be able to stay long.”

The elevator opened with a ding and the doctor paled as the rest of the James descended on us. “
Mami
, you shouldn’t have come all the way down here. I told you I’d call you once we knew anything.”

“Aach… You know me better than that, of course we came.”

“Dr. Mahajan, these are my folks, Carmen and Stewart, and my sister Danny. You might want to run while you can.”

He looked at his watch. “Will you look at the time; I think I’m needed in surgery.” He smiled warmly. “It was a pleasure meeting you all, but I really do have to get back to the ER.”

“Ummm… About my mom.”

“We’ll do what we can. I’ve already noted not to disclose his location, but if she’s really determined, she’ll find him,” he said, regarding the giants surrounding him with new concern.

“Not to worry Doc,” Mat reached out to shake his hand. “They got his location from me. I texted an update when you gave us the room number.” After his retreat, the James closed ranks around me.

Angie seemed to be getting use to my touchy-feely family. She barely flinched when we jumped into our usual hug-fest. We broke apart when an orderly informed us that Jack was ready to hold court.

He was a little startled at first, seeing the James invasion force, but he recovered quickly, and smiled warmly when Angie took his hand. “Hey Daddy, we can only stay for a few minutes, but I’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Don’t you worry about me, I’m fine. They’re only keeping me overnight to cover their butts.”

“Is there anything you need us to do?” I asked. From what he said downstairs, most of the legal stuff was covered. “Anyone you need us to call?”

“Not right now; just look after my girl for me. I’ll ring my attorney in the morning, just as a precaution.”

“What about the bicyclist? Is he all right?” Leave it to Angie to worry about the jerk who landed her dad in the hospital.

“If the speed he took off with is any indication, he’s just fine.”

“He didn’t even stop to see if you were all right?”

“Nope, the way he was moving, you’d have thought his pants were on fire.” That was strange. My folks exchanged a glance, the look on Mom’s face not boding well for someone.

“Don’t worry about a thing,” Mom said. “We’ll look after Angie; we already consider her family. And if you need anything, anything at all, you call.”

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, we waited in the hall to give Angie a few minutes alone with her dad. “So
Mami
, what’s with the look.”

“What look?” Mom said, her expression, shuttered while Dad looked grim.

“That look?”

“It’s probably nothing, just a feeling.”

“The last ‘probably nothing’ feeling you had, ended with a Grand Jury indictment, followed by some serious jail time.”

“Yes, well, human trafficking is an ugly business… Hush now, here she comes.”

Angie’s cautious approach had me smiling—three giants and my mom, she should be wary. “C’mere babe.” I roped her in, mauling her a bit just for fun. “It’s getting late. Let’s go home and veg.”

While we waited for the elevator, Danny began whistling ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ off-key. She knew it was like nails on a chalkboard to me. She’d heard me whistling one day when we were kids then nagged me into teaching her. The rest of that summer, she drove me nuts whistling ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’ continuously, and only the fear of payback kept me from throttling her five-year-old neck. Even back then, she was vicious, and too damned sneaky for my peace of mind.

It was closing on 9:30 by the time Angie slouched out of my elevator, hugging herself. “I guess tonight didn’t turn out quite the way you’d planned. Riding to my rescue all the time must be getting old.”
Aw, baby don’t do this to yourself.

“Naw, I think it’s been pretty spectacular so far. I got to fantasize about you in a strip club,” I said, giving her my best leer. “Enjoyed some fine dining, got to work my mojo and get my dance on—although, your laughter might’ve hurt a lesser man.” I stretched out on the sofa, dragging her down onto my chest. “And I got your old man’s nod to defile you.” I added smugly.

“He wasn’t giving you a nod; he was letting you know his shotgun was wedding-ready.”

“Same thing.”

“Is not.”

“Is to.” I grinned at her; I could do this all night. “It’s guy parlance.”

“Guy parlance?”

“Yep.”

“Care to couch that in terms those of us with two fully formed chromosomes can understand?”

“He basically informed me I could fuck you sideways, upside down, and every way in between, but I’d better plan on sticking around. And if I broke your heart, he’d fuck me six ways to Sunday.”

“He said all that?”

“Yep.”

“Six ways to Sunday?”

“Definitely.”

“Why does my brain suddenly feel like it’s going to explode?”

“This is the way my dad once explained it to a younger, furrier and somewhat less adorned me. He posited that crossing into an opposing gender’s communicational dimension was a lot like entering a wormhole: A plane rife with monsters, hidden shoals and dangers untold. And lingering there too long, courted madness.”

“Were you guys high at the time?”

“Possibly… Probably.” I stroked her back, and she relaxed into a loose heap on my chest.
Oh, sweetheart, you’ve had a really rough week.

“Mmmmm… this is nice…”
Yes it is.